Yarn twisting method and apparatus



Feb. 26, 1957 w. B. LOWE YARN TWISTING METHOD AND APPARATUS Filed May 14. 1953 United States Patent i YARN TWISTING METHOD AND APPARATUS William B. Lowe, Swarthmore, Pa., assignor to American Viscose Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application May 14, 1953, Serial No. 354,911

7 Claims. (Cl. V5758.52)

This invention relates to yarn twisting, and more particularly to an arrangement of multi-ply yarn twisters and an improved method for producing cord.

In the manufacture of cords used in the construction of tires for automotive-type vehicles, it has been found desirable to control the twist in the doubled yarn to provide maximum strength. A further important consideration in the production of tire cord is to arrange the twisting apparatus in such a way that a minimum of space on the spinning frame is required. I have found that it is possible to provide a satisfactory cord having suitable twist by arranging two or more two-for-one yarn twisters in such a way that the singles ply delivered from one twister is fed into the yer of a second twister together with the singles ply delivered from the second twister. This arrangement is efficient, economical, and saves considerable space. The method provides a novel cord which exhibits satisfactory physical properties and can, therefore, be used to reduce the cost of manufacture.

The primary object, therefore, of the invention is to provide a novel method of twisting yarn.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangement of a plurality of multi-ply yarn twisters.

A further object is to provide in a yarn-twisting frame means for introducing a singles yarn delivered from a preceding twister to the axis of a succeeding ltwister, from whence the yarn is simultaneously twisted in the flyer of the succeeding twister with the singles ply delivered from the succeeding twister.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side View partly sectioned of apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional detail of a part of the spindle of the upper twister shown in Figure 1.

The invention comprises essentially the provision of a hollow bore in the spindle of a multi-ply yarn twister and a guide in the bore of said spindle which directs plies of yarn fed from opposite directions `in the spindle to the flyer of the twister. This arrangement enables the plied cord to be fed directly from the second ilyer to a suitable take-up device which may, if desired, be used to introduce more or less twist to the plied cord.

Referring now to the drawings, a conventional twofor-one yarn twister 5 is mounted on a spinning frame member 6 and comprises an electric motor 7 suspended from the bottom of frame member 6 by bolts 8. Motor 7 `drives a vertical hollow spindle 9 on which is journaled the yarn package support 10 by means of bearings 11 and 12. The twister is provided with a conventional tension device 13 and a flyer 14 keyed to the spindle 9. Suitable pairs of magnets 15, 15 and 16, 16 are used to prevent rotation of the yarn package 17 and the carrier 1t?. The lyer 14 is provided with a yarn guide 18 and the yarn is delivered from the package 17 through tension device 13, thence downwardly through the bore 19 of spindle 9, and radially outward through the yarn y guide 18, thus imparting a `twist into the yarn in accordance with .the speed of rotation of spindle 9 and Y 2,782,590 Patented Feb. 26, 1957 ice the speed with which the yarn is delivered from the package 17. It isto be understood that ythe details of construction above described in connection with twister 5 form no part of the present invention and are wellknown in the art.

The singles ply P delivered from twister 5 is, however, fed into the hollow lower end of spindle 20 on twister 21 which is constructed in identically the same fashion as twister 5 except for the spindle. 'It will be understood, however, that the twisters can be completely identical and that spindle 9 in twister 5 may have a hollow bore extending completely therethrough so that a cord of three or more plies can be formed. The present drawings are intended to illustrate only two twisters operating in series, but anydesired number of additional twisters can-be employed and these additional twisters may deliver theirrespective singles to the last twister either in series or in parallel. Furthermore, a stationary package or a conventional up-twister can be substituted for the two-for-one twister 5 shown in the drawings. Corresponding parts of twister 21 are designated with the same reference numbers as the parts on twister 5 with the addition of a prime. The singles yarn P delivered from cake 17 of twister 21 feeds through tension device 13 and into the upper end of spindle 20. From thence it travels through the bore 19 of spindle 20 to a point substantially in line with the yarn guide 18' in yer 14. At this point the bore of spindle 20 may be provided with a curved abutment 22 (Figure 2) which assists in guiding and lacing up the singles yarn P from the lower end of the spindle as well as the singles yarn P from the upper end of the spindle. Both singles P and P are thence carried together .through an aperture or radial passage 22a in spindle 26 to the yarn guide 18', and from the balloon of the twister 21, the doubles cord D is carried through a guide 23 whence it is wound on a conventional winding or coning device 24 having a spindle 25 and a traverse mechanism 2.6. The doubles take-up device 24 may, if desired, be of the form shown and described in Reissue Patent 23,509 or U. S. Patent 2,410,674, thus providing further variation in the ultimate twist.

By suitably controlling the speed and direction of rotation of flyer 14 with respect to the speed and direction of rotation of flyer 14', it is possible to introduce the desired S or Z twist into the singles strands P and P' before they are twisted together in flyer 14. This is due to the fact that the twist in singles P' occurs partially between the yarn package 17 and lthe flyer 14' because of the inherent nature of a two-for-one twister which imparts two turns of twist for every turn of the llyer. The linal twist in the doubles yarn D is due solely to the speed and rate of withdrawal of the doubles strand through flyer 14. It will thus be apparent that the apparatus may be so adjusted `that the singles ply P when finally twisted in the doubles ply D may have zero twist or any number of turns of S or Z twist. While the direction of twist in the doubles D will be the same as the direction of twist in the singles ply P because this twist is imparted by the same yer 14', the twist in the singles P can be controlled to be greater or less than the twist in the doubles cord D.

For example, let it be assumed that both twisters 5 and 21 turn with clockwise rotation, then both the singles P and P will have Z twist and the doubles cord D will also have Z twist provided twisters 5 and 21 operate at the same speed. The -turns will all be equal under this condition. If twister 5 is operated at .twice the speed of twister 21, then all the twist will be Z twist, but the number of turns in the singles ply P will be three times the number of turns in P or D. if .twister 5 is operated at one-half the speed of twister 21, then there will be no linal twist in the singles P; but if the speed of twister 5 is reduced below one-half the speed of twister 21, then there willbe a final S twist insingles A similar result is achieved ifbothtwistersare rotatedinthe. opposite..

or counterclocliwise direction. except that the Z twists will be S twists, and the critical speed for determining the fuial twist of singles P is one-half the speedof twiste-r 21.

same flyer which forms the doubles cord in a two-for-one system enablesA the two-for-one twisters to be' positioned in an end-for-end space-saving relationship, thus avoiding complicated gearing which has been characteristic of previous constructions in which the twistersare located side-by-side and revolving around a displaced axis.. T hev possible variations that'can be achievedwithth'e presentY 1. The method of..forminga. twisted. multi-.ply yarn' strand. which comprises the steps.of:twisting.a first .singles yarn strand in a two-for-one yarnltwister; twisting a second.

singles; yarn strandV in: another two-torroneyarn. twister; feeding one of said .twisted singles yarnstrands intothe other two'-forone yarn twistenand.simultaneouslyv twisting both` of said singles yarnstrands in said otherryarn twister to form a'multi-ply cord.

2. Apparatus' forl twisting multi-'ply cordwhich comprises a two-for-one yarn twister, a hollow rotating. spindleffor said two-for-oneyarn`twister, .a borein1.said.

spindle extending from end-to-end thereof, a radial-.pas-

sagefinsaid spindle communicating with said bore, ayer.

mounted on the spindle and havingia yarn .guide'in align,

ment with said radial passage in the. spindle,.and means..

in the bore of the spindlefor directing yarnstrandsinto the radial passage from opposite ends of the spindle'.

This simultaneousV twisting of two .singles'vpliesiinthe 3. Apparatus for twisting multi-ply cord which cornprises-afirst two-for-one. yarn twister, a second two-for one yarn twister in close spaced relation to said first twister, a spindle in said second twister having a hollow bore extending from end-to-end thereof, the axis of said spindle being substantially in line with the axis of the spindle of the first twister, and means in .the bore of the spindle of said second twister for directing oppositely axial travelling.` yarn strands to the flyer of said second twister.

4. The mcthodof forming `aatwistedmulti-ply yarn'cord which comprises unwinding a first singles yarn strand through the yer of a two-for-one twister, feeding a second singlesyarn strandfromiheyer of. aisecond aligned V two-for-one twisterinto the spindle and through the flyer of said first two-forone twister' and rotating the flyers of the two-for-one twisters at the same speed.

5. The method of claim 4 in which the yers are rotated at diierential speeds.

6. The method of claim 5V in which the flyers rotate in the same direction.

7. The method of claim 5 in which. the tlyers rotate in opposite directions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,219,314 Hubbard Mar. 13, 1917 2,353,105 Winslow July 4, 1944 2,442,775` Nelson June 8, 1948 2,614,381 Uhlig Oct. 2l, 1952 v FOREIGN PATENTS 949,819 France Mar. 7, 1949 1,001,013 France Oct. 17, 1951 

